581-595 Langs Drive | 7fl | Approved

[bravado]

Our client is proposing to redevelop the subject property to accommodate a 7 storey, 136 dwelling unit, mixed-use building for the purpose of providing affordable rental housing in support of the Waterloo Region Housing Master Plan. The proposed redevelopment will be apartment-style dwelling units and include a 'Youth Community Centre' on the ground floor.

The Region is proposing to redevelop a 7-storey, mixed-use building consisting of 136 dwelling units and ground floor Youth Community Centre. All of the proposed dwelling units will be dedicated to affordable rental housing in support of the Waterloo Region Housing Master Plan and provide additional affordable housing in the Waterloo Region. More specifically, approximately one third (1/3) of the dwelling units will be rent-geared-to-income, 1/3 below average market rent, and the remaining 1/3 will be low end of the market rent. The proposed unit types range from one (1) through five (5) bedrooms in order to provide a range of unit sizes for residents.

The proposed Youth Community Centre is located on the ground floor in the southwest corner, with frontage along Langs Drive. The subject property currently contains a ‘Youth and Teen (Community) Centre’ to which the proposed redevelopment will provide for an updated and larger space of 183.28 square metres. The proposed Youth Community Centre will provide a variety of activities and program for youth ages in order to support the existing and surrounding community.

Extensive outdoor amenity space is provided behind the proposed building as a focal point of the redevelopment. The proposed outdoor amenity space will feature a playground area, coloured asphalt play area, a gazebo-like structure for shade, as well as barbeque pits and picnic benches for community gatherings. Additional landscaping, such as trees and shrubs are also included within the proposed outdoor amenity area.

The proposed redevelopment provides for a total of 142 parking spaces at-grade. [...] The proposed redevelopment also provides for a total of 60 bicycle parking spaces, 48 will be secured indoors, while the remaining 12 are to be located outside of the building.

Replacing a dated low-income townhouse property + youth centre with a 7 floor apartment building + new youth centre in a quiet North Preston neighbourhood.

Architect Package

Planning Justification Report

Urban Design Brief


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[tomh009]

That looks like a great addition to the affordable housing stock. Maybe 35-40 townhouses being replaced with 136 apartments is excellent. I assume the five-bedroom units will be for group living, similar to four- and five-bedroom shared student apartments.

Who will be operating this building?

[ac3r]

That'd be a much better use of space! Townhouse complexes tend to underutilize so much of the property they are on. I mean look at Figure 4...pointless giant strips of grass lots that I am sure almost nobody uses but a couple kids now and then. Same with the aerial view in Figure 3. So much wasted space along the property/fence line. People who want greenspace are more likely to use a park, not some barren strip of grass along a property line.

[bravado]

That looks like a great addition to the affordable housing stock. Maybe 35-40 townhouses being replaced with 136 apartments is excellent. I assume the five-bedroom units will be for group living, similar to four- and five-bedroom shared student apartments.

Who will be operating this building?

The text on the city applications page seems to say that the Region will be operating this building on its own.

[ac3r]

Also...shame about all that parking, yuck. Looks like this property is around 95-100 meters, give or take. 3/4th of that is taken up by parking and other void spaces. Now compare that to this random city block in Berlin. Same size, but with no setbacks from the sidewalk, no parking, various 6 floor buildings, courtyards in the middle etc. They fit more people into 1 square kilometer than we probably do in 10 or more (totally making those numbers up, but yeah). Obviously there are major differences in terms of transportation, nearby shops and so on between our cities, but it's still annoying to see us underutilize a plot of land like this when you could easily pack in multiple times more people and end up with a more vibrant, interesting community.

[bravado]

Also...shame about all that parking, yuck. Looks like this property is around 95-100 meters, give or take. 3/4th of that is taken up by parking and other void spaces. Now compare that to this random city block in Berlin. Same size, but with no setbacks from the sidewalk, no parking, various 6 floor buildings, courtyards in the middle etc. They fit more people into 1 square kilometer than we probably do in 10 or more (totally making those numbers up, but yeah). Obviously there are major differences in terms of transportation, nearby shops and so on between our cities, but it's still annoying to see us underutilize a plot of land like this when you could easily pack in multiple times more people and end up with a more vibrant, interesting community.

Surely everyone walking around Berlin is constantly assaulted by the clashing "character" and "neighbourhood feel" across the city, I am so glad we dodged that bullet.

[ijmorlan]

Also...shame about all that parking, yuck. Looks like this property is around 95-100 meters, give or take. 3/4th of that is taken up by parking and other void spaces. Now compare that to this random city block in Berlin. Same size, but with no setbacks from the sidewalk, no parking, various 6 floor buildings, courtyards in the middle etc. They fit more people into 1 square kilometer than we probably do in 10 or more (totally making those numbers up, but yeah). Obviously there are major differences in terms of transportation, nearby shops and so on between our cities, but it's still annoying to see us underutilize a plot of land like this when you could easily pack in multiple times more people and end up with a more vibrant, interesting community.

If Berlin keeps this up, future Berliners will have no heritage parking lots to enjoy!

[westwardloo]

Definitely glad the region is starting to replace the townhouse blocks with something a little denser. Not a nice looking building, but not a horrible replacement. I think the offset window help this type of building. I am disappointed in the industrial style wrap around drive lane that creates 2 car entrances when 1 would more than suffice for the number of cars in this building. If they pushed the building to one side of the lot, they would provide future infill opportunity. I do think there is way too much parking, obviously this is not the most walkable/ transit oriented neighbourhood, but I feel like housing stock should take precedence over parking especially in affordable (subsidized) housing. At least the building is along the street and parking is in the back, babysteps in north america, car is king.

[nms]

Will the current tenants be given the option to return to the site after the project is complete? If so, I wonder where the current tenants will live during construction.

[bravado]

Happy to announce that 38 existing units will be replaced by 136 apartments with the City finally approving this project.

https://www.cambridgetoday.ca/local-news...nt-6507772

One of the oldest affordable housing properties in Waterloo region will be rebuilt from the ground up starting this spring now that Cambridge city council has granted final approval to official plan and zoning bylaw amendments for 581 to 595 Langs Dr.

The new housing project, seven storeys of mixed housing units with a youth community centre on the ground floor, will replace 38 units with 136 apartments of various sizes at an estimated 2021 cost of $46 million.

Region of Waterloo Housing, which owns the property, says all of the units are intended to be affordable rental units with about one third set for rent-geared-to-income.

Another one third of the units will be low end of the market rent and the final one third of the units will be below average market rent.

Demolition of the existing, 52-year-old townhomes is expected to begin in spring 2023 with the new units ready for occupancy around December 2025.

Over the last year, the region has worked on tenant relocation and only "a handful" of tenants remain on the property.

All will be relocated soon to requested properties around the region and all will have first right of refusal on the new units once they are ready to be occupied.

[bravado]

The credentials and brain power necessary to be a city councillor reach new lows:

Coun. Adam Cooper said he found the number of parking spaces per unit to be "incredibly low" despite the fact the Langs Drive property is in close proximity to major transit routes.

"Are we here to house people or are we kind of here to push ideologies of how people should be getting around," Cooper said, citing "a study done recently" that revealed 89 per cent of Waterloo region residents use their own vehicles in their daily lives despite their level of income. "I don't like to see barriers to housing."

The planning consultants for the project surveyed 11 affordable housing sites in the region's portfolio and found an average utilization rate for parking spaces of .36 per unit, said Douglas Stewart from IBI Group. "And some of those sites weren't as conveniently located as this one" within walking distance of two transit routes and a community centre.

"I'd be surprised that we needed more than .36 for this facility, in my professional opinion and your transportation professional opinion planning staff agrees," Stewart added.